


Dubious Food

by bingus_my_beloved



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Canon Typical Violence, Emetophobia, Food Poisoning, Gen, Injury, Link uses they/them, Mute Link, Nonbinary Character, Sickfic, Sidon only shows up like twice but I love him so he gets his own tag uwu, Takes place fairly early on, Vomit, Wizzrobes can suck it actually they're the most annoying monster, doesn't really effect this story but it's a cool headcanon I enjoy, don't worry it's not very detailed, first time posting on AO3 so here's hoping it works lol, the Vah Ruta quest is the first Divine Beast quest in this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-16 00:41:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,405
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28822374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bingus_my_beloved/pseuds/bingus_my_beloved
Summary: After getting injured and having basically no healing supplies, Link makes a rash decision. It doesn't end well.
Kudos: 31





	Dubious Food

**Author's Note:**

> Very loosely based off my own playthrough, it always confused me how the dubious food item never seemed to have any drawback to using it aside from healing less hearts lol

Watching the lizalfos burst into smoke after a particularly difficult battle, Link allowed themself to breathe before wincing as a burning pain started in their arm. 

The now dead enemy had struck it earlier when their shield broke, and looking at it now they could see the nasty gash had started bleeding once more. As much as the hero wanted to continue on it was clear they needed to rest and heal up.

Sitting down, Link the looked through their pitifully empty inventory in search of at least something on hand that could help, before coming to the realisation that A: there were only a few monster parts left as cooking materials and B: they had no food.

Well actually that was a lie, there was in fact one dish that remained but whether or not it was even edible was questionable at best.  
A failed attempt at cooking a few days ago when they were utterly exhausted after not sleeping for at least a few night cycles, and had accidentally grabbed a moblin gut or two instead of the meat they'd intended to.

In any other circumstances it'd be thrown away but in a fit of stubbornness they refused to; it was their fault they failed to destroy the Calamity and the kingdoms by proxy, anything that still had potential healing use would stay regardless of how gross it looked if it meant they could redeem past mistakes they couldn't even remember happening.

The fiery pain in their arm shook them out of their thoughts, making the rash decision to eat the failed cooking attempt. After all this wound wouldn't heal on its own and Sidon was waiting up ahead, probably wondering what was taking them so long.

Link grimaced at the sight of the meal and decided closing their eyes and downing it quickly would be the best approach, trying not to think about the taste or oddly slimy texture as they did so. 

Against all odds it actually seemed to be working as the blood stopped flowing and the flesh around it closed up, leaving only a dull pain that would likely clear up on its own. 

The hero slumped down in front of the fire the lizalfos had made earlier with a sigh. Regardless of how much they wanted to press on it was getting dark and there was no way they could take on the undead without any provisions. 

So they rested, intending to wake at morning like they had everytime since climbing out of the Shrine of Resurrection.

~

Instead of the sunrise waking them up it was a stabbing pain that did it, one that while not as bad as the previous arm injury still left them gasping, instinctively curling up until they could adjust. Did some monster wander by during the night after all and get the drop on them? 

A quick glance suggested the camp was the same as before, with no new tracks left in the muddied ground. They sighed in relief at that, before their breath hitched as the pain spiked for a second and they realised where the source of the pain was.

Link was a fool to think they could just eat the dubious meal and expect no repercussions to come from it, they _knew_ that, and yet the realisation came to a surprise to some part of them regardless. 

Still, stomach ache and probable food poisoning or not they had a duty to fulfill and they'd left Sidon waiting long enough. They'd just have to soldier on like any other injury would make them.

Gritting their teeth, the hero stood up and began the trek through the winding path to the Zora Domain; trying to ignore the sparks of pain that bombarded their innards in favour of looking for the glowing blue lamps that lit the pathway, as well as any cooking ingredients that might be hidden along the way.

Thankfully they'd managed to avoid coming into battle with anymore lizalfos, but the pain hadn't let up. And to make matters worse, now they were starting to feel sick, which they promptly decided to ignore in favour of continuing on.

After walking for what felt like hours they heard the familiar joyful shout of the Zora coming from the river below, peering over the cliff edge to see a flash of red waving at them. 

"Link! You're about halfway to the Domain, keep it up! I'll be waiting up ahead!"

Sidon cheered before swimming off once more, blissfully unaware of how close the hero had been to emptying their stomach into the river just then.

As soon as the prince left they scrambled away from the edge and tried to control their breathing, the nausea had come out of nowhere and while some part of them wished to blame it on a sudden fear of heights, the rest had accepted the more likely reality that yes they had food poisoning.

Somehow the breathing trick worked as the overwhelming queasiness was reigned back, but for how long it'd stay like that they had no idea.  
In any case they hadn't come across any new camps since the one they'd rested at, which was not ideal.

They decided to keep moving until they'd found somewhere sheltered enough from the onslaught of rain and away from any monsters reach to rest.  
That, of course, was easier said that done though up until now that hadn't really been to much of an issue.

Hylia must've been on their side because the rain let up just enough for them to see smoke up on the hill ahead, a sure sign of shelter.  
Of course it was very likely to be full of monsters but the fact it was there filled Link with determination, so long as they didn't make any sudden movements and aimed their bow right it shouldn't be a problem to take any foes out.

It wasn't until they actually got up the hill that they paused. There was only one enemy in the camp: a wizzrobe.

Link winced at the prospect of having to deal with a monster they struggled to hit even on good days, but until it was gone the camp may as well have been just another open space to pass by.  
They sighed and readied the bow.

The first shot missed. As did the second and third, the mischievous creature somehow oblivious to the arrows whizzing by as it continued to bounce around in the air.  
Pushing down the returning nausea at following the creatures erratic movements they opted to try a different trick.

Freezing the wizzrobe in Stasis was probably the smartest thing Link had done this entire trip, taking the small window of opportunity to slam arrows into it and pray it worked.  
As it broke out of the golden chains it flew back, an arrow lodged deep into its torso. The hero internally cheered until it got right back up, albeit a lot weaker looking now as it turned to where they were semi hidden behind a small boulder.

Fear rose up in them as the wizzrobe shot at them, thankfully missing each one. The hero started aiming another shot when it disappeared, reappearing behind them a few seconds later with another shot from its wand that they narrowly dodged.

Their stomach protested the constant movement and they could feel bile threaten to rise up their throat much to their horror, they had to end this fight _now_.

They tried the Stasis trick again and just like before the monster was frozen in time, leaving it to get sliced at by the somewhat damaged sword they had equipped and then bursting into a puff of smoke the second the golden chains snapped.

Link didn't bother to check the dropped loot, instead placing a hand over their mouth as they ducked behind a tree and began throwing up.

It was short lived thankfully, thanks to there being practically nothing to actually throw up, but was unpleasant nonetheless. The hero returned to the camp and sat next to the campfire nestled between some rocks, the makeshift cavern protecting both them and the flames from the unrelenting rain.

Link whimpered at the jolt of pain in their innards, wrapping their arms around their torso in an attempt to lessen it as they took a break. The Zora Domain could wait for their help for at least a few extra minutes.


End file.
